1.Fine,choice,elegant,exquisite are terms of praise with reference to quality. Fine is a general term: a fine horse, person, book.Choice implies a discriminating selection of the object in question: a choice piece of steak.Elegant suggests a refined and graceful superiority that is generally associated with luxury and a cultivated taste: elegant furnishings.Exquisite suggests an admirable delicacy, finish, or perfection: an exquisite piece of lace.

In French, the main meaning remains "delicate, intricately skillful;" in English since mid-15c. fine is also a general expression of admiration or approval, the equivalent of French beau (cf. fine arts, 1767, translating French beaux-arts). Finer; finest. Fine print is from 1861 as "type small and close-set;" by 1934 as "qualifications and limitations of a deal."

Modern meaning is via sense of "sum of money paid for exemption from punishment or to compensate for injury" (mid-14c., from the same sense in Anglo-French, late 13c.) and from phrases such as to make fine "make one's peace, settle a matter" (c.1300). Meaning "sum of money imposed as penalty for some offense" is first recorded 1520s.